


Long Overdue

by ZoneRobotnik



Series: Filling the Blanks [4]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Quirin wants to fight Fredric, references to "On the Run" and "Redemption"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24984304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoneRobotnik/pseuds/ZoneRobotnik
Summary: After the joy of reuniting has passed, it's time for Varian to admit his wrongdoings, and Quirin to tell Varian what he's been hiding from him for so long.
Relationships: Quirin & Varian (Disney)
Series: Filling the Blanks [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801066
Comments: 78
Kudos: 81





	Long Overdue

**Author's Note:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

After Rapunzel left them alone, Varian and Quirin clung to each other for a bit longer before Quirin finally let go of him and cupped his cheek. “Varian…you’ve changed a little. Filled out more. You’re looking more like a man.” He said with awe. “How…How long has it _been_?”  
  
Varian’s smile faltered. “It’s…” He pulled back, glancing away. “It’s been a year. A year since…since that terrible storm.”  
  
Quirin watched as Varian stood up and walked over to look out the window of his lab. “Dad, I…I made some mistakes. I did something really _bad_. And…” He looked back at him, tears forming in his eyes. “And I think that you might _hate_ me for it.”  
  
“Hate you?” Quirin got up and walked over to wrap his arms around him. “Varian, I could _never_ hate you, not for anything.”  
  
Varian sniffled. “You might for this. I…I turned on the Kingdom.”  
  
“Varian…tell me everything that happened.” Quirin said gently.  
  
Varian wiped at his eyes. “Can we…can we go into the kitchen and sit down?”  
  
“Of course.” Quirin nodded, letting him lead the way. They stepped outside and Quirin looked at the black rock forest with concern. “When did _this_ happen?” He gestured to it.  
  
“After the storm.” Varian said numbly, his gaze distant as memories of running through it day after day drifted in and out of his mind like ghosts. “After I left you, I ran to Corona. I ran and ran; the storm didn’t bother me because I was so sure… _so sure_ that you would be saved. And then…when I arrived…” He looked at his bare hands, missing the feeling of rubber around them. He felt so… _exposed_ without them. Vulnerable. He wrapped his arms around himself, his hands going into his tattered sleeves.   
  
“I was thrown out into the snow after pleading for help. I…I _begged_ them…to help me. To help you. And I was thrown out into the snow. I called and called…no one came. And when I came back here…” He looked at him, a haunted expression in his eyes. “I…” He looked to the side and walked over to kneel down and turn the crank of a music box wheel on the ground, the haunting tune drifting through the air.   
  
“You were encased in amber. I tried over and over to find a way, through alchemy, to save you. Shortly after the storm ended, everyone else in the village left. They left me behind. Then…the men came.”  
  
“The men?” Quirin frowned.  
  
“They…” Varian wrapped his arms around himself. “They were sent by the King. They told me that I was being watched, because I attacked the princess. I…I heard something like that from one of the villagers, before they left. That, apparently, I attacked the princess on the night of the storm. That I was dangerous, and _they_ knew I was dangerous and you should’ve kept an eye on me better and where were you _now_?” He sobbed a bit and Quirin walked over and wrapped his arms around him, holding him close, grounding him in reality.  
  
“I couldn’t tell them…I couldn’t tell them the truth about what happened to you…I covered you up…and they just assumed you were gone. No one checked under the sheet.” He sniffled. “A-Anyways…the men, they…they wouldn’t let me leave. I tried to go to Corona and they threatened me to stay away. I tried to leave the Kingdom and they forced me back inside. All I could do was try and fail and try and fail and TRY and FAIL to save you! All I had were more questions than answers, like what is that armor and why did you have that graphtych and why did my ‘friends’ abandon me!” He turned to his father, the music box still playing its haunting tune.  
  
“I started to lose my mind.” He said shakily. “I was falling into a darkness…I had nothing left to lose. I tried…” He looked at the music box numbly. “For a month…I tried over and over. I wasn’t making any progress. Found out what the graphtych said, though, and I tried to take it to Corona, but they stopped me…and then said that they’d take it if I tried again. So, I sent a letter to Rapunzel by kite telling her about it, and she came and got it. I couldn’t see her, though. They kept me away. They got hurt, chasing her after she got it, and I realized I could take the opportunity to make my move. To leave.”  
  
“Varian…what did you do?” Quirin asked softly.  
  
“I found a mood-changing potion that had washed downriver and gotten caught in the rocks. I made more and modified it into a truth serum. Then I baked in into cookies and gave it to everyone in the castle. I tricked Rapunzel into taking me to the Sundrop Flower and then I _stole_ it. _I had nothing left to lose._ The flower didn’t work, though, so I tricked the King into thinking I was after Rapunzel so he’d lock her away in her bedroom, then sent a diversion to occupy the guards so I could kidnap the queen as a hostage. They came after her, and I tried to force Rapunzel to use her magical hair to free you. B-But… _that_ didn’t work either, so I tried to kill them! _All_ of them!” His voice was shaking but eerily calm and his eyes were wide, his entire demeanor looking more and more unsettling as he went on.  
  
Quirin’s eyes widened as he looked at his shaking and sobbing son. “Varian…”  
  
Something had happened to his son. Something dark. He’d been served up a full helping of the cruelty of adults and it had made something _snap_ inside of his brilliant boy. Quirin clenched his fists and held him closer, letting him speak.  
  
“I was beaten in battle and thrown in prison, with Andrew of Saporia as my cellmate. I languished in there for half a year and then his people came to break him out. By the time Rapunzel came back from her…her quest…” He swallowed nervously. “I’d taken over Corona with the Separatists of Saporia. The King and Queen’s memories were wiped, my doing. The whole town was under the control of Andrew and I was his…advisor. We forced the people to collect crystals for us, crystals that would increase the strength of my alchemy. I…” He closed his eyes. “Rapunzel…talked me out of it. We had her in a cell, she was at our mercy, and she talked me out of it. Andrew turned on me, I turned on him, I got locked up and we escaped to save the day. But, it doesn’t erase my crimes. No matter what Rapunzel may think, the people will never forgive me. And…I don’t blame you if it’s the same for you.”  
  
He looked at him, tears slipping down his cheeks. “But, you have to understand, I had _nothing left to lose_! I had _nothing left_! You were in _amber_ , everyone turned their backs on me, I was _desperate_! I—”  
  
“Varian.” Quirin moved his hand up and Varian flinched, but his hand rested on his cheek. “Let’s…go inside.” He suggested. “I need to tell you something. And, no, I don’t hate you. You had been mistreated…and you’re a _brilliant_ boy. _They_ were the ones that drove you to that level of grief.” He held him tightly. “I will be having words with Fredric.” He said firmly.  
  
“Well…he…kind of doesn’t remember right now.” Varian said awkwardly. “So…you might have to wait on that.”  
  
“I love you, Varian.” Quirin smiled softly, then let go of him to stop the music box. “Let’s go inside, I’ll fix you a warm drink…and then, we have to talk.” He smiled wryly. “Perhaps, if I’d just told you this sooner, you wouldn’t have been messing around with the black rocks.”  
  
Varian’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”  
  
Quirin gently led him to the house and inside to his bedroom. The chest was still there, and he opened it, taking out the helmet with the strange mark on it. “You asked about this armor.” He looked at him. “Didn’t you?”  
  
Varian blinked and turned to watch his father leave the room with the helmet. “Come, Varian.” He called, and Varian followed him out to the kitchen, where the helmet was set down. Then he went to look through the cupboards.   
  
“Oh, uh…I kind of cleaned us out during that month.” Varian said awkwardly.  
  
“That’s alright. We’ll do some shopping in Corona later.” He left the cupboards and walked over to sit at the table with him. “This mark,” he took off his gloves and Varian leaned forward to see the same mark on his hand, “is the mark of the Dark Brotherhood, sworn to protect and serve the Moonstone Opal.”  
  
“The Moonstone Opal?” Varian looked confused.  
  
“Yes. Long ago, the Sundrop Flower and Moonstone Opal crashed down to Earth during a mysterious event in the heavens. The Sundrop Flower could heal, and found a nice, secret place to rest in the Sun Kingdom, Corona. The Moonstone Opal was destruction. It found its place in the Dark Kingdom, and slowly began to destroy it over time.” Quirin said grimly.  
  
Varian listened with awe. “So…there’s not only Sun Powers…but _Moon_ Powers?”  
  
“The black rocks are from the Moonstone Opal. I warned Fredric not to remove the Sundrop Flower, to bring the ailing queen to it instead, for once the sun was taken…the moon’s darkness would stretch out and consume the world.” He pursed his lips grimly. “He didn’t listen. The Sundrop Flower was taken, and Princess Rapunzel…she was born with the powers of the Sun.”  
  
“What about the Moonstone Opal?” Varian asked. “And, if you’re from the Dark Kingdom, why was I born in Corona?”  
  
Quirin’s gaze went distant. “Because my king, King Edmund, tried to destroy the Moonstone Opal after it killed his wife.”  
  
Varian gasped in horror.  
  
“At the time, I was close by him. When he attacked it, the Moonstone Opal cast out a wave of energy that took out what was left of the Kingdom. Only the King and his Brotherhood remained, with everyone else either fleeing because of the Moonstone before, or perishing when the wave was sent out. I know not how I survived…or the others. I suspect it is because we are of the Dark Brotherhood. The Moonstone’s treacherous servants, saved by its power.” Quirin looked at the mark on his hand. “I fled to Corona; it was the furthest I could think of to escape it. Here, I met a lovely woman, an alchemist, and we started a life together.” He smiled at him and reached up his other hand stroked his cheek. “And had the most _brilliant_ and _stubborn_ child to _ever_ exist.”  
  
Varian giggled a bit.  
  
“When the black rocks started to appear, I considered taking everyone and running. But, I knew that there was nowhere we could go. The Moonstone Opal wanted something. The Sundrop, I suspect. The only one that can destroy it – and itself in the process.” Quirin went on. “You kept begging for answers…but I didn’t know how to tell you. How could I tell you that the only way the rocks would be destroyed was by magic? You didn’t believe in magic. You firmly refused to believe it existed and would have surely refused to accept that your alchemy could do nothing about it. So, I told you to leave them alone, instead.”  
  
“And I didn’t.” Varian said softly. “I made things worse…”  
  
“Yes, well…” Quirin sighed. “It seems the Princess found a way to free me, so that turned out well. But, Varian, _please_. Don’t just meddle in things you don’t understand. I beg you to exercise caution when dealing with the Moonstone.”  
  
Varian nodded. “Okay, dad.” He reached out and placed his hand on his father’s, resting his hand on the mark. “Just...please…no more secrets?”  
  
Quirin sighed and moved his hand to take Varian’s. “No more secrets…no more lies.”  
  
Varian smiled shakily.  
  
“Now…I know you’re going to hate this, but we _do_ have an empty cupboard and we will need to eat.” He let go of his hand and got up, heading for the door. “Let’s take the cart and go shopping in Corona.”  
  
Varian nodded. “And uhm…some new gloves?” He held up his bare hands.  
  
“Of course.” Quirin smiled and offered his hand. Varian got up and went to take it with his smaller one before they headed out, the helmet left on the table as the only evidence left behind of their conversation.  
  
Varian still had questions, but he didn’t know who he could go to about them. Why were his gloves destroyed, but he wasn’t harmed at all? That strange spell, which Rapunzel had warned him about so strongly…  
  
It felt like every time he got answers, more questions appeared. And, somehow, he felt like the Moonstone wasn’t done with him yet.   
  
He had…a bad feeling.  
  
End

**Author's Note:**

> Still so many questions, but at least he has his dad back and can start healing from the pain.


End file.
